A few weeks ago I bought a gigantic bag of green beans from the farmer’s market. I grilled them a few times and then promptly forgot about the rest of the bag until tonight when we were cleaning out the fridge. Oops. I was already planning on making caprese salad with my left over fresh mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes, so I decided to put a twist on the dish.

This really isn’t a recipe, more of a technique. I make 99% of the salad dressings I eat because I don’t really like all the junk in the store bought ones, plus I really like to see what I can whip up. I have a vinegar obsession. Salad dressings are a good way to experiment with flavors.

Lemon Vinaigrette

zest of one lemon
juice of one lemon (maybe 2T)
a few T olive oil (depends on how much salad you have and how much lemon juice you were able to get)
splash of rice vine vinegar
salt
pepper

Add items to a resealable storage container, screw on the lid and shake vigorously. Taste and adjust seasonings. You may need more olive oil or another splash of rice wine vinegar or even more salt/pepper.

Cook the green beans in boiling water for a few minutes and then blanch them in ice water to stop the cooking process.
Chop heirloom tomatoes (I used a lovely yellowy orange variety) and grape tomatoes into quarters.
Cut a chunk of fresh mozzarella into cubes
Drain green beans and wipe as much moisture off them as possible.Chiffonade fresh basil leaves (as much as you like)

Combine tomatoes, cheese and green beans, basil and mix thoroughly
Shake the lemon vinaigrette one more time and pour half over the salad. Mix and taste, add more dressing as needed. If you aren’t going to eat all of this salad at once, then I would not pour the dressing over the whole bowl, you can add it to your plate.

Voila, you’ve now used up all those green beans, tomatoes and cheese hanging out in the fridge AND you have a delicious, healthy side dish that tastes equally good the next day.